


Amarna

by SurrealSadi



Category: No Fandom
Genre: M/M, Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-12
Updated: 2012-07-12
Packaged: 2017-11-09 20:44:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/458186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SurrealSadi/pseuds/SurrealSadi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amarna is a kingdom in the world of Aldain, where the gods, goddesses, godlings and demi-gods answer the prayers of their people, granting power to Mages and Healers. This particular story follows the journey of 3 assassins, Mika, Kora and Tobin, in fulfilling their contract to the Vizier of Amarna, and what it will lead to.</p><p>(Yes, Egyptology buffs, I did borrow the name from Akhenaten's capitol. Bitch later, please.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Amarna

With a terrified scream, the woman ran down a darkened alley, trying to escape. The men chasing her took off after her, each carrying a different weapon; a long blade, a staff with a removable metal point, and dual katars. In the shadows of the alley, the woman ducked behind a cinder-box, hoping to hide from the men. Unfortunately for the woman, the men were trained at reading shadows, and could easily find her. The man with the blade stalked down the alley towards the cinder-box with a silent step. The man's partners waited at either end of the alleyway, the staff-wielder where they had entered, the katar bearer having run around to the other side. The woman cowered, praying to the Goddess that he wouldn't find her.

Suddenly, the man stopped, right next to the cinder-box. The woman froze, holding her breath and trying to avoid detection. The blade-wielder turned to the shadows obscuring the woman and grinned, looking right at her. She screamed and took off, right toward the katar bearer. The katar bearer, with a twisted grin, rushed toward her, one katar raised to catch her shoulder. When he felt the blade sink in, he spun, forcing the woman up against the wall and slammed the blade through to pin her to the wall. Stepping back, he regarded the woman, now unconscious, with that same twisted grin, then began to cut into her flesh with the other katar. His partners, who were just now approaching, froze when a sound similar to rotten fruit hitting the ground reached them. The katar bearer stepped back once more, and his partners could see the woman's entrails laying on the ground before her. With that twisted grin still plastered on his lips, the katar bearer pulled his blade free, and let the woman's nearly lifeless body fall onto the pile of organs before wiping the blood from both blades onto the back of her dress. He slid the katars into hidden sheaths as he looked to the other two, who hid their own weapons as well before they all exited the alleyway. Once back on the street, the three split up, heading in different directions but towards the same goal-their temporary home.

A mark later, all three men arrived at their hideout-a well-maintained warehouse on the edge of the small city, owned by their employer. Every town and city in the kingdom had a building similar to it, all of them owned by the same person, but under different names. The three assassins had been hired initially for one job, but the person had been so impressed with the skill of the three that they were placed on retainer. The three were quite happy with the arrangement, which gave them access to a safe home everywhere in the kingdom, the best weaponry they could need, fully trained Healers. Their loyalty was unshakable, so long as their employer remained loyal to them.

The blade wielder, after entering the warehouse, sighed and tugged his cloak off. He draped the cloak over a nearby chair then collapsed into it. "Gah.... I dislike this sneaking around and killing women. There's no evidence they're worth the effort." The staff-wielder shrugged as he settled in the chair next to the blade-wielder's, one hand gracefully drifting to his partner's knee.

"I'm sure there's a good reason, Mika. Eventually I'll find the pattern, or our employer will tell us." Mika, the blade-wielder, raised a silver brow at the other's words, then smiled slightly at the gentle squeeze to his knee. That smile, however, vanished at the giggle from the third of their group. Before he could say a word, however, the staff-wielder spoke again. "Tobin, enough. You're worse than a damned clown."

"Aw, is little Kora afraid of the 'clown'?" Tobin, the katar bearer, grinned. "Why worry about our targets? We've nothing to fear from the Guard." Mika turned his amber eyes to Tobin, annoyance and a hint of fear in them.

"The Guard is no threat, yes, but what about the Imperial Knights? Should the Guard become suspicious, the Knights will be here in days and we'll be dead!" Mika shook his head at the youngest of the trio, causing strands of silver hair to fall into his eyes. "With their Tell-Me-True spell, in addition to their legal right to kill any assassin they find, we wouldn't be able to hide who we are, nor who our employer is. And that would cause no end of chaos. The Vizier, at the very least, would be executed."

"There's more than that, Mika." Kora frowned, looking down at a small notebook he'd pulled from a hidden pocket. "I think I may have found the pattern. These women all seem to be involved with members of the Royal Council. The Vizier is trying to weaken the Council, to force the Queen to do as the Vizier wants. Were the Queen to find all this out, there'd be Civil War."

"Gods..." Mika shook his head again as Tobin grinned at the prospect. "With the Knights on the Queen's side, and the Guard on the Vizier's.... The Healers would be the deciding factor, and their Code requires them to Heal the injured, no matter who they are. Such a war would last....decades. The kingdom can't afford it."

"Awwww, but think of the fun!" Tobin whined, madness and blood-lust clear in his gray eyes. Kora and Mika glared at the young assassin. 

"Fun? Fun! Civil war is a death sentence for assassins! We're useless because there's no where safe to hide, and everyone is killing everyone else!" Mika snapped. Kora squeezed his lover's knee harder, a signal to calm down, to not feed the crazy assassin's 'fire'. Mika lowered his head slightly, and Kora stood up. 

"I have to go report this to the Vizier. Tobin, I advise you to shut up. We don't need a fight between all of us right now." Kora focused green eyes on the young man, who rolled his eyes and shrugged. Kora shook his head and walked to the back room. Mika remained silent until Tobin began to pace and mutter about 'no fun' and 'boring assignments'. 

"No fun? Tobin, you've had nothing but fun since you joined up with us. You've killed 7 out of every 10 targets, and you've killed them far more viciously than you should. Because of you, Kora and my reputations have fallen, while the team's has risen. We built our reputation over years. Years! We worked hard to show we were good, quick, and clean. Now, because of you, we're seen as vicious and bloody. When our contract with the Vizier ends, you're out." Tobin turned and stared at Mika. 

"You'd have to kill me to get me to leave this team. And that's not likely to happen." Tobin grinned, and Mika frowned, anger turning his normally warm amber eyes cold and hard. 

"You signed a contract with us, Tobin, a teaching contract. Remember that? The contract stated that when we deemed your lessons to be ended, you would return to being a solo hunter. Your lessons ended 3 months after the Vizier put us on retainer. Because of that contract, we're stuck with you. And our reputation has suffered for it. It will take years, if not decades, to rebuild it, time we may not have." Tobin grinned more, amusement brightening his gray eyes.

"Aw, the little fag is worried about his reputation. Oh grow up, Mika. The Vizier won't let our contract end. We're too good." Before Tobin could even move to turn away from Mika, the other assassin was out of his chair and had the young man slammed up against the wall behind him, a very sharp blade against his throat. A bare twitch of Mika's hand had a line of blood appear on Tobin's neck.

"If you ever use that word again," Mika hissed, "I will slit your throat, and toss you out to the scavengers. Is that clear?" Tobin, his gray eyes clearly terrified, nodded faintly, far too shocked and afraid to speak. Mika withdrew, but deepened the wound just enough that it would leave a permanent scar on the younger man's throat, a reminder of the older assassin's promise, and temper. Tobin, once released, clapped a hand over the wound while he reached for a strip of cloth in a hidden pocket. Mika wiped the blood from his blade and sheathed it as Kora returned. Kora, seeing both the blood and the blade, turned green eyes to Tobin.

"What did you say to push Mika to that point?" Tobin looked at Kora.

"Let's just say my choice of words was a poor one." 

"I see. There are few words that trigger that response from Mika, and knowing you, Tobin, I can guess which one you used. You should be lucky I wasn't the one you directed it towards." Tobin smirked. He never believed Kora could be dangerous. The man was far too calm and collected. Kora shook his head. "I'd tear you apart... without the aid of a weapon. You wouldn't be the first, nor would you be the last." Kora looked at Tobin, a hint of feral anger in normally calm, clear green eyes. Tobin realized that, despite preferring their own gender, neither man was weak or an easy target. 

"And if you wanted to take us out, one at a time, you'd never be able to do more than just wound your target. Likely, you'd be dead before you could even wound one of us." The fear in Tobin's eyes flashed into anger in an instant. 

"Bullshit! You two have taught me everything I know, and I've worked with you two long enough to know your patterns and mannerisms!" The older pair laughed at the young man's anger, which only infuriated him more. Mika was the first to speak, though.

"You really think we'd teach you everything we know and can do? You are truly insane if you think so. No assassin would do that." Tobin turned on Mika, clearly about ready to attack the man. "There's a reason Kora and I work so well together, and why we did not want to take you on to teach you. There are some things an assassin has to learn on his or her own, things unique to each assassin. Ours happen to work together."

"That's right." Kora crossed his arms. "Mika and I began training at a young age... I was about 6, Mika, 7. We learned basic combat, agility, things all children are naturally good at. As we got older, we learned more combat, and our own natural, unique skills began to appear, and I don't mean our weapon choices. You didn't start training till you were in your teens, and you wanted to apprentice up as soon as you could. You never got the chance to grow and learn what you needed to." Tobin frowned.

"So I screwed myself over by demanded a training contract. Is there a way to fix that?" Kora shook his head.

"Only a Master Assassin can help, and the closest one is in Morilane. And that's a 3 week trip. It would likely take months for her to teach you, and then another 3 weeks back."

"And even if we were passing through Morilane, we'd only have a few days to stay there no matter what." Mika dropped back into his chair having been pacing for the past few minutes to regain his temper.

"Why would we be stopping for a few days in Morilane while passing through?" Mika swore silently. "Well?" Tobin looked at Mika, who clearly did not want to answer, then looked at Kora, who shook his head. "Hmph. Fine." Tobin, strip of cloth around his throat to soak up the blood from the cut, flopped into the third chair in the room as Kora went to secure the door. 

"Door's good, enchantments are in place. Tobin, check that window." Kora pointed to the one not far from the young man's chair. Tobin huffed and stood up. He managed two steps before he suddenly dropped to the floor, and a heartbeat later a crossbow bolt shattered the glass and embedded itself in the far wall. "Shit!" The green eyed assassin opened a hidden panel near the door and removed a blue-colored crystal and slammed the end against the wall. It flared and a blue glow surrounded the warehouse. "Mika, warn the Vizier!" Mika bolted to the back room to activate the emergency beacon as Tobin crawled over to the broken window and peeked out. Kora remained by the door, crystal in his hand. 

"I don't see anyone out there, Kora. That was damned close though... A little slower and I'd be dead." 

"The fact that you sensed that bolt is what saved you. Had it been Mika or I, we'd be dead." Tobin turned and stared at Kora. "That's right. We can't sense projectiles other than thrown blades. Being able to sense that bolt makes you special, that's a rare sense to have." Just then, Mika returned.

"Well, we're ordered to clear out, burn the building, and head to Alkara." Kora frowned.

"That's a two month trip!"

"He said that's where our next target is, and that we've been here too long. It took him too long to get that next assignment ready for us, he said." Kora sighed.

"Great... a two month trip, on foot.... And in the hottest months of the year." Mika shook his head.

"He said, 'Use the Gray one'." Kora paled, as did Mika. "Yeah, I know. It's suicidal if it fails."

"It should only fail if we plan to betray our contract," Kora replied. Tobin growled some.

"Let's hope no one fucks this up then," Mika said as he reached for a hidden switch. Activating it, a secret door opened. "Okay, let's pack up and go." Tobin shook his head and stalked through the hidden door to pack his things. Mika sighed. "That boy will get us all killed."

"Only if we let him, love...." Kora set a hand on Mika's shoulder. "Come on, let's get our things together." Mika nodded and they headed to their room. 

It only took them 5 minutes to pack, being trained for such emergencies. Returning to the main room, Tobin looked around.

"How do we light this place up?" 

"Easy, Tobin." Kora walked over to another panel in the wall and opened it. He removed a red crystal. "We activate this, then have 10 minutes to get clear. If we clear out before that 10 minutes, it activates the moment we're gone." Tobin blinked. "What? Thought we use mundane fire?"

"Yeah. That seems...too easy." Mika laughed as he came back with the gray crystal. 

"Mundane fire can be too easily put out. With this, it will wipe out all evidence." Mika turned to Kora as he shouldered his pack. "I have the gray, Kora. Light it." Kora nodded, and pressed the sharp end of the red crystal into the pad of his thumb, drawing blood. The crystal absorbed the blood and began to glow brightly. Kora set the crystal down on the floor and grabbed his pack before moving close to the other two.

"Hit it, Mika." Mika nodded and slammed the gray crystal against the hilt of his blade. The crystal shattered, and the shards turned to dust. The dust swirled around the trio and flared brightly before settling to the ground. The trio vanished, and a heartbeat later, the red crystal exploded, igniting the warehouse.


End file.
